Beautiful sights and sounds...and how to handle them?

[thistle]

This thread springs from several interesting discussions over the past few weeks on this forum. I did a search and there are two related threads on beauty which partly overlap with my questions but they’re also quite old, so I think it’s worthwhile to have a fresh look at them.

Probably 10 out of 10 people would prefer listening to a song on the radio over the hammering and drilling of their neighbour next door. But if we strip the event „music“ or “hammering and drilling” down to its core - it’s basically just sonic waves that hit the eardrum and our brain making sense of what’s going on. Likewise, we are deeply touched by a magnificent rainbow and feel a sense of awe when looking at the wide, glistening ocean. So even though beauty lies in the eye of the beholder and people have different tastes - there seems to be sights and sounds that our species univocally labels as „beautiful“.

Now in philosophy and science there is longstanding debate on this. Is beauty just the mind’s fabrication or to some extent intrinsic to objects or the process of perception per se and therefore something we as a species can’t escape? What’s the Buddhists approach to it? Where does “beauty” come in in the khandas?

And how should we handle what we perceive as beautiful given that we tend to crave stuff we perceive as beautiful? The usual: There is beauty in this world but don’t indulge in it? Enjoy it with a big, fat mental signal post that says: „Caution. Will not last forever“ . Should we go a step further and reduce exposure to sights and sounds? Or step out of the beauty-ugly-dichotomy altogether by deconstructing them as empty labels if possible?

[Khemarato.bhikkhu]

Mentally noting every sound, pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral, as simply “sound” slowly acclimates the mind to equanimity with regards to sound. (“In the heard, simply hearing”)

But beauty and ugliness do exist, just in the moral dimension. Lying is truly an ugly sound and the truth is truly a beautiful sound. (“Better than a hundred meaningless verses is one word of truth, which, having been heard, brings peace.”)

Educating our aesthetics to more closely align with noble morality is a large part of the path.

[Sasha_A]

The problem is not in the beautiful things, but only in your intentions in regard to these things:
You Don’t Need To Say NO To Everything

[Meggers]

Perhaps you should regard it all as contact.

And how should you regard contact as fuel? Kathañca, bhikkhave, phassāhāro daṭṭhabbo?

Suppose there was a flayed cow. If she stands by a wall, the creatures on the wall bite her. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, gāvī niccammā kuṭṭañce nissāya tiṭṭheyya. Ye kuṭṭanissitā pāṇā te naṁ khādeyyuṁ.

If she stands under a tree, the creatures in the tree bite her. Rukkhañce nissāya tiṭṭheyya, ye rukkhanissitā pāṇā te naṁ khādeyyuṁ.

If she stands in some water, the creatures in the water bite her. Udakañce nissāya tiṭṭheyya, ye udakanissitā pāṇā te naṁ khādeyyuṁ.

If she stands in the open, the creatures in the open bite her. Ākāsañce nissāya tiṭṭheyya, ye ākāsanissitā pāṇā te naṁ khādeyyuṁ.

Wherever that flayed cow stands, the creatures there would bite her. Yaṁ yadeva hi sā, bhikkhave, gāvī niccammā nissāya tiṭṭheyya, ye tannissitā pāṇā te naṁ khādeyyuṁ.

I say that this is how you should regard contact as fuel. Evameva khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, ‘phassāhāro daṭṭhabbo’ti vadāmi.

When contact as fuel is completely understood, the three feelings are completely understood. Phasse, bhikkhave, āhāre pariññāte tisso vedanā pariññātā honti.

When the three feelings are completely understood, a noble disciple has nothing further to do, I say. Tīsu vedanāsu pariññātāsu ariyasāvakassa natthi kiñci uttarikaraṇīyanti vadāmi. ( SN 12.63)

[Jara]

@thistle

And how should we handle what we perceive as beautiful given that we tend to crave stuff we perceive as beautiful?

Thats a good question. Especially in our era of sensory delights.

I find the Rolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma Sutta SN 56.11 provides penetrating teachings on navigating pleasant perceptions and cravings.

The Middle Way and Four Noble Truths are profound.

[faujidoc1]

@thistle

What’s the Buddhists approach to it?

First, calm the mind and body (Mindfulness of breathing). Then with a calm analytical mind, investigate the phenomena of interest (Beauty), both internally (within oneself) and externally (in others) so as to understand this construct thoroughly in terms of its arising, cessation, gratification, drawback and escape.

This is an example of how to investigate Beauty.

Relevant Suttas : AN8.119, AN 10.29, MN 137. A through understanding of the sense bases and how the perception of beauty is produced will come from study of SN 35 and SN 36.

Interesting advanced practice : Did you know that you can see the beautiful in the repulsive by simply changing the focus of your attention? This practice is described in the Suttas (MN152).

@thistle

Where does “beauty” come in in the khandas?

It is Sanna AFAIK. (Maybe with a dash of Sankhara?)

@thistle

how should we handle what we perceive as beautiful given that we tend to crave stuff we perceive as beautiful?

Understand why you perceive it as beautiful, what could change that perception, why you crave it, what that will lead to (suffering in not having, suffering in trying to get it, a momentary reduction of suffering when you get it, the suffering of having to keep it safe from others and then the suffering when the beautiful - being a conditioned manifestation - inevitably passes away).

Then get over it! (Hint - you need to get rid of your flawed perception of the object, not the object itself!)

@thistle

Should we go a step further and reduce exposure to sights and sounds?

“Ït will not be, and it will not be mine”? Won’t work as per the Buddha - the Mind will simply be reborn in the sphere of non perception or cessation of perception. And then when that karma runs out… its back to the lower planes! You cannot hope to transcend Samsara by avoiding it or wishing it away.

@thistle

step out of the beauty-ugly-dichotomy altogether by deconstructing them as empty labels if possible?

This is also a good option. It will help to develop Equanimity - said to be the best possible perception.

---

Finally to close, here are the Buddha’s words…

SN 1.34
They are not sense pleasures, the world’s pretty things:
Man’s sensuality is the intention of lust.
The pretty things remain as they are in the world
But the wise remove the desire for them.

[thistle]

Thanks for the high-quality input everyone!
I was hoping to come across a “sensory-perception-theory” and in the suttas provided we do find something pretty close. I’m not sure I understand the “not perceiving form internally, seeing forms externally” passages in AN 8.119 correctly, but it has given me food for thought.

My impression is that Dhamma teachers and lay followers have quite different views on how to handle beautiful sights and sounds. I agree e.g. with the monk in the video Sasha_A provided that it’s our intentions that define unwholesome or wholesome behaviour in regards to sense objects so it’s crucial to become aware of them.
Intentions can nevertheless be mixed, though, - encompassing unwholesome and wholesome , so I think reducing one’s exposure to sights and sounds does make sense in a pragmatical take on it. Less exposure - less possibilities to develop intentions - less likely to react.

Getting rid of the deeply intertwined notion of perceiving things as beautiful or ugly seems in this regard very advanced.